Binary Bead Necklace

Students learn about the binary code and create a necklace spelling out their name in binary.

Teach students what binary code is. I found this video useful, there are also many different videos to choose from on YouTube. Click here for the Code.org Binary lesson: Binary is extremely important to the computer world. The majority of computers today store all sorts of information in binary form. This lesson helps to demonstrate how it is possible to take something that we know and translate it into a series of ons and offs.

Students practice their binary skills by breaking codes, you can also have them write their own coded messages and have their partner try to figure it out.

Using crayons, students color in the squares to make out their name. Use page 11 of this document. Once they colore in the squares, have the students place the beads on top of each square, layout the beads in order before they put them on the string.

Using any type of beads, create your necklace using the binary code. I had students place a 3rd colored bead as a separator between the 8 bead letters to make it easier for the students to recognize each letter. Also it is a good idea to tap down one side of the string so the beads don't go all over the floor!

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